Review of Retails Payments Regulation
Submission to: Reserve Bank of Australia
Related Projects
Review of the Privacy Act
Submission to: Attorney General’s Department
Joint submission from Financial Rights and FCA (Financial Rights as the lead author) responding to an October 2021 discussion paper from the Attorney-General’s Department considering the scope of the Privacy Act and if its enforcement mechanisms remain fit for purpose. The submission supports proposed amendments to the definition of personal information. The submission argues that the exemption for small businesses from the Privacy Act should be removed including that the Act apply to the new category of “trusted advisors” for the purposes of the consumer data right. (Financial counsellors are trusted advisors.) The submission also argues for the consent provisions to be strengthened, that pro-privacy default settings be enabled by default and that there should be a right to erasure. Complaints handling should be undertaken by the creation of a new body, a Federal Privacy Ombudsman.
Joint submission from Financial Rights and FCA (Financial Rights as the lead author) responding to an October 2021 discussion paper from the Attorney-General’s Department considering the scope of the Privacy Act and if its enforcement mechanisms remain fit for purpose. The submission supports proposed amendments to the definition of personal information. The submission argues that the exemption for small businesses from the Privacy Act should be removed including that the Act apply to the new category of “trusted advisors” for the purposes of the consumer data right. (Financial counsellors are trusted advisors.) The submission also argues for the consent provisions to be strengthened, that pro-privacy default settings be enabled by default and that there should be a right to erasure. Complaints handling should be undertaken by the creation of a new body, a Federal Privacy Ombudsman.
United Kingdom Consultation on the Buy Now, Pay Later industry
Submission to: HM Treasury, UK
Joint submission from the Consumer Action Law Centre and FCA to HM Treasury in the United Kingdom. The purpose is to share our experience of the Australian regulatory environment, where BNPL operates outside the credit laws that apply to other lending products. This is a similar situation to that in the UK. A key difference in Australia is that the industry here has developed a self-regulatory Code of Practice. The submission outlines the deficiencies with the Code and why it is not an substitute for adequate regulation, includes some observations about other aspects of the operation of BNPL in Australia and makes suggestions about the design of proportionate regulation. The submission is informed by the casework experiences of financial counsellors (called debt advisors in the UK) and consumer lawyers who are increasingly seeing clients who are experiencing various forms of harm when using the product.
Joint submission from the Consumer Action Law Centre and FCA to HM Treasury in the United Kingdom. The purpose is to share our experience of the Australian regulatory environment, where BNPL operates outside the credit laws that apply to other lending products. This is a similar situation to that in the UK. A key difference in Australia is that the industry here has developed a self-regulatory Code of Practice. The submission outlines the deficiencies with the Code and why it is not an substitute for adequate regulation, includes some observations about other aspects of the operation of BNPL in Australia and makes suggestions about the design of proportionate regulation. The submission is informed by the casework experiences of financial counsellors (called debt advisors in the UK) and consumer lawyers who are increasingly seeing clients who are experiencing various forms of harm when using the product.